Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Motors Inc., a U.S. electric-car maker, soared 13 percent, the most in seven months, after it
lost less in the third quarter than analysts estimated and said
it has a new tentative agreement to supply batteries and motors
for an electric Mercedes-Benz model.

The company named for inventor Nikola Tesla said yesterday
its third-quarter net loss widened to $65.1 million from $34.9
million a year ago. Excluding some items, the loss was 55 cents
a share, Tesla said in a statement on its website. The average
of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for a per-share loss of 60 cents.

“Even though they’re losing money, the fact that their
batteries are attractive to other automakers gives them some
revenue and some credibility,” said Alan Baum, an industry
consultant at Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
“They are catching a few breaks in the sense that people want
to do business with them.”

Tesla is sold out of next year’s production of its new
Model S sedan and should earn a profit in 2013, Elon Musk, the
company’s chief executive officer and biggest shareholder, said
in an Oct. 28 Bloomberg Television interview. The electric sedan
will eventually retail for as little as $50,000, about half the
price of its current Roadster sports car.

Tesla rose to $32.46 at the close in New York. The increase
was the biggest since March 31, and the closing price was the
highest since Dec. 22, 2010. Tesla shares have gained 22 percent
this year.

Revenue Forecast

The automaker, based in Palo Alto, California, said in a
letter to shareholders that it had a “letter of intent” from
Daimler AG for “a full powertrain in the Mercedes line.”
Details of the program may be announced “around the end of the
year,” Musk said yesterday on a conference call.

The new deal could add $100 million to Tesla’s revenue over
the next few years if it’s similar to powertrain business with
Toyota Motor Corp., JPMorgan analyst Himanshu Patel, who has an
“overweight” rating on Tesla, said in a note today.

“Components is a higher margin business and would boost
overall gross margin,” Patel said.

The company’s third-quarter revenue totaled $57.7 million,
higher than the $46.4 million average of eight estimates. The
company raised its 2011 revenue forecast to a range of $195
million to $200 million from $180 million to $190 million,
crediting sales of Roadsters and motors and battery packs to
Daimler and Toyota.

Tesla Investors

Tesla said it’s on target to begin delivering Model S
sedans next year. Sales of Roadsters, which cost more than
$100,000 each, jumped 22 percent to 184 units in the quarter.
Revenue from the model, which travels more than 200 miles per
charge, was “just over $28 million,” the company said, up 56
percent from a year ago.

Tesla counts Daimler, Toyota and Panasonic Corp. as
investors. The Model S is an important part of Tesla’s plans to
break into profitability. Shipments of the car will begin in
July 2012, Musk said.

“Over 90 percent of the factory tooling is in place” to
build the car at Tesla’s plant in Fremont, California, he said
on the earnings call with analysts. “We could ship before July
if we had lower standards.”

The design of the next model to be added to the company’s
lineup, the Model X utility vehicle, will be revealed late this
year and go on sale in 2013, Musk said.

New U.S. Stores

The company also said it’s adding three U.S. stores to sell
and service Model S sedans. The new locations are Bellevue,
Washington, near Seattle, Chicago, and Newport Beach,
California, Tesla said in a statement today.

Capital expenditures in 2011 will be “at the lower end”
of the company’s guidance of $220 million to $245 million, Tesla
said. Preparations for its California plant and development
costs for the Model S will prevent the company from being
profitable until at least 2013, Musk said.

Along with car sales, revenue will come from supplying
electric motors and battery packs for Toyota’s rechargeable RAV4
sport-utility vehicle that goes on sale next year. In the third
quarter, sales to Toyota and Daimler totaled $29 million, the
company said.

The tentative deal with Daimler comes after Tesla had
supplied batteries and motors to the Stuttgart, Germany-based
company for electric Smart minicars and Mercedes A-Class
hatchbacks.

Tesla said it also has “multiple” agreements to sell so-called zero-emission vehicle credits in California that it will
generate from delivering Model S sedans. The state requires
large automakers doing business there to sell some autos that
emit no tailpipe exhaust or to buy credits from those that do.